In August our attention pivots from the work of tending our ‘crops’ (literal or metaphorical) to beginning the harvest. We’re seeing the rewards of all the work we’ve put in over the Spring and Summer, and it feels amazing. We’re also now on the downside of Summer, and though Autumn is still 6 weeks away, we can see the light at the end of the very hot, very bright tunnel, and the harvest aesthetic is creeping into everything. I love it.
August was originally the 6th month of the year, and was moved to the 8th month when January and February were added to the Julian calendar. In our house, it’s known as DragonCon preparation month.
The water lilies are still blooming now and again, and our morning glories are going strong. The apples and Rose of Sharon are done, and we’re starting to eye the basil to see when we should harvest it for pesto. I also spotted some Joe Pye weed, which is always exciting. We’ve been feeding the neighborhood stray cats, and we’ve had a raccoon and an opossum visitor as a result. Otherwise, we haven’t been seeing nearly as many frogs, snakes, or other critters, and I think the kitties have been eating them or scaring them away.
Birthstones: peridot, sardonyx, spinel
Lunations:
August 15- Full Moon in Aquarius, 8:29am EDT
August 30- New Moon in Virgo, 6:37am EDT
Astronomy:
August 1- Mercury goes direct
August 4- Southern Iota Aquariids meteor shower begins
August 11- Jupiter goes direct
August 12- Uranus goes retrograde
August 13- Perseids meteor shower begins
August 18- Kappa Cygnids meteor shower begins
Celtic Tree Month:
Holly (July 8- August 4): Protection, enjoying and celebrating success (nearing first harvest), renewal/restoring your direction, rebalancing your energy, moving towards your purpose, energizing. Truth, unconditional love, sacrifice, reincarnation, protection, luck, dream magick, male counterpart to feminine ivy.
Hazel (August 5- September 1): Wisdom, intuition, studying ancient knowledge, fertility and good luck, divination (including hazel rods used for divining for water), poetry and science, playfulness and enchantment, healing arts.
Holidays (non-Pagan):
August 7: Purple Heart Day
August 11: Tisha B’Av (Jewish)
August 12: Eid al-Adha (Muslim)
August 14: Raksha Bandhan (Hindu)
August 15: Assumption of Mary (Christian)
August 21: Senior Citizens Day
August 23: Janmashtami (Hindu)
August 26: Women’s Equality Day
Holidays (Pagan):
August 1: Lammas
August 1: Metageitnion Noumenion- Greek festival honoring all the gods
August 4: Feast of Aphrodite and Eros
August 6: Festival of Artemis
August 7: Gaia Consciousness Day
August 12: Festival of Athena and Zeus
August 19: Vinalia- Roman festival of thanksgiving for the grape harvest
August 23: Feast of the Furies
August 25: Festival of Ops- Roman Goddess of the harvest
August 30: Boedromion Noumenia- Greek festival honoring all the gods
Themes for the month: Harvesting grains and herbs, drying herbs, days are getting slightly shorter, sense of impending Autumn, canning and preserving food for the Winter, back to school, wrapping up Summer activities and projects
General activities for the month: Cooking with and enjoying Summer veggies, grilling, getting in those last Summer vacations, cleaning up the plants that are already spent for Winter, planning Autumn projects, perusing craft stores for Halloween/Samhain decor
Herbs I’m using: I have just enough Rose of Sharon blooms to make one last batch of iced tea, basil, garlic chives from the CSA farm
Stones I’m using: Rhodonite for self-love and heart healing, polychrome jasper for rebirth and earth energy, carnelian for energy and motivation
Goddess of the Month: I’m working with Athena and Minerva as I’m trying to wrap up and FINALLY publish some projects that I started a while ago. I want them done before DragonCon, and I need her inspiration and wisdom to help me learn what I need to do to format and design the covers, etc.
3 card reading:
Astrologically, everyone seems to agree that the eclipse at the end of July marks a transition into a better life in August. Let’s see if the cards agree!
First, we see The Ace of Swords reversed. So this is a time when we need to stop thinking, overthinking, and even obsessing. We’ve done all the thinking that needs to be done, and now it’s time to actually take real, concrete action. We aren’t at the beginning phases of a project anymore, we’re fully in it, and we need to see it through to completion.
Next, we have the Two of Cups. So we’re going to have a helpful, happy partnership that helps us see this project done. That can be a lover or spouse that supports us through the process, or it can be a business partner that we really jive with. This can even be a friend that we become partners with in our business or other undertakings. Either way, we have lots of support, peace, and harmony this month.
And finally, we see the Three of Discs. This is a card of recognition for a job well done, and it comes at a great time! Our work is really coming together and we’re showing some real skill. People are noticing, and we’re setting ourselves up for success. Good news! This is a great card for this time of year, as it shows a harvest of our hard work.
Our special guidance card is Sige. So we’re being told that we still need to carve out quiet time for ourselves, no matter how much our plans are coming together right now. This can be self-care and solitude, or this can even mean carving out time for yourself to finish what you’ve started. Sometimes solitude is about taking time away from activity, and sometimes it’s about creating more personal time for activity. It’s your choice how you would like to read this card!
In Harvest
By Sophie Jewett
Mown meadows skirt the standing wheat;
I linger, for the hay is sweet,
New-cut and curing in the sun.
Like furrows, straight, the windrows run,
Fallen, gallant ranks that tossed and bent
When, yesterday, the west wind went
A-rioting through grass and grain.
To-day no least breath stirs the plain;
Only the hot air, quivering, yields
Illusive motion to the fields
Where not the slenderest tassel swings.
Across the wheat flash sky-blue wings;
A goldfinch dangles from a tall,
Full-flowered yellow mullein; all
The world seems turning blue and gold.
Unstartled, since, even from of old,
Beauty has brought keen sense of her,
I feel the withering grasses stir;
Along the edges of the wheat,
I hear the rustle of her feet:
And yet I know the whole sea lies,
And half the earth, between our eyes.
My personal tides: We’re FINALLY done with all the housing insecurity, financial insecurity, moving, feeling pulled in two directions, and worrying about all the things we need to do to start our new life. We’re in the new house, done with the old house, and ready to launch a new life. So I’m all about cleansing, purifying, and being completely reborn. I’ve gotten a haircut, done all the shaving I put off because I was too busy, and I’ve been actually unpacking some boxes with a vision of getting our house in order!
My personal goals: My main goal for August is to get the book I just finished formatted and published. I also need to revise the Tarot 101 class that I’ll probably be giving at DragonCon again, and beef up the security on my website so that people can order readings or ebooks there. I also need to find a rescue organization who will help me rescue these cats.